Clothing

In-Progress clothing design and construction.

Projects: 9 July – 15 July

Tchad

As we get back into the swing of blogging about the stuff going on up here, we’re juggling a lot this week:

Restoration:

  1. Finish formulas and patterns for the faux marble in main stairwell entrance.
  2. Clean, repaint, and refresh office area in Workrooms
  3. Design Deco sculptures for front entry to either be cast in bronze or paster and then gilded.

Sewing Classes:

  1. Lots of Open Sewing Studio time scheduled… 9 July, 10 July, 13 July, 14 July
  2. Verena’s ongoing wedding dress gets special attention this week – this week the skirts go in and she’ll be inserting the two zippers and starting the drape around the neckline
  3. Amber’s wedding dress is a last-minute addition to classes this quarter – it is substantially simpler than Verena’s dress, so we said yes to the dress and threw it into the mix.  Welcome to the crazy Summer dress party, Amber!

Clothing & Design:

  1. This is going to be the Summer of custom dress shirts. I may even sneak a few in for myself.
  2. Two words: Linen pants
  3. We’ve been playing around with tambour and some smocking techniques in new ways for a new private collection

Agricultural Stuff:

  1. Drafting out masonry heater and fireplace plans for the cabin
  2. Planning out garden and deck areas
  3. Late Fall schedule set for November – December work

General Business Stuff:

  1. Fall registration under way
  2. Summer studio time registrations
  3. Daily blog and social media entries

And that is the week, folks.  Let the glamour wash over you like a waterfall of glitter and delight.

 

 

 

Resurrection!

Tchad

It has been since March.  We had to drop the blogs because of a death in the family.

The process hasn’t been fun.  If you want to read more about that you can do it on Tchad’s personal blog.

But as of now, the blogs are back up and running!

We are re-structuring the business to deal with classes entirely.  There will be no clothing or design projects for a while as we deal with the personal and professional fall-out of a life change like this.

So enjoy the blogs and let’s see where this takes us!

Projects: 11-17 October 2010

Tchad

Some of our projects at the workroom the week of 11-17 October:

  1. Our email inbox has become a mess. If you expect an email, look for it by 3 p.m. Tuesday the 12th.
  2. We should have the Design blog built out.
  3. The tchad.biz site will be updated with new links and filled out with some images.
  4. There are about five posts to write across the blogs:
    1. Sewing machines you should never buy.
    2. Sewing machines that are a great value.
    3. Reviewing the “Pattern Magic” book’s new English edition.
    4. How to build an ironing table from a large 4×8 foot piece of plywood
  5. Toward the end of the week, we will be at the fabric store to buy white fabric for the workroom’s office drapery.
  6. What seems like thousands of little business details – CPAs, attorneys, &c.
  7. Fittings Friday morning for two of the Berlin series (this is VERY exciting).
  8. Rescheduling and updating the class schedules for Winter & Spring 2011.

So that is what HAS to get done. If we can squeeze in a few hours to finish cleaning out the closet and install a new communications system in the workroom, well, great.

“Project Envy” Shoot…Out-takes

Tchad

As the blogs at Tchad LLC gain some traction folks are taking notice. We have gotten some emails here and there, but the funniest thing happened Tuesday morning.

Lisa Helms called us and said something like: “HEY! I see your blog! I am on my way up with my projects!” I want to be on the front page, too!

Lisa, a freelance graphic designer of some note and experience, is an old friend and supporter of the Tchad concept and was one of our first students in the early days. We aren’t very good at taking pictures and documenting things, so her contribution was more than welcome as we put out the word for pictures of student design and sewing projects.

When you have students who aren’t professional models, it can be hard to get them to pose well. You end up with a lot of awkward and stilted shots that aren’t flattering.

please don't kill us for using this as an example...

You have to loosen folks up a bit.

lisa laughing

Fun with photos

So after a number of shots that neither of us liked, Tchad hit on an idea.

With a camera in one hand and the nearest piece of yardage in the other, we shouted:

“HEY! LISA! CATCH!” as we lobbed the fabric in the air.

So we suppose the moral of the story is:

If you want people to act naturally and photograph well, throw things at them.

Fabric:

hey! catch!

4 yards of silk lining will loosen you up!

Notions…

Lisa tries to catch something thrown at her.

OMG OMG OMG

Thread…

Thread catch

We should really have aimed better...

lisa playing catch

Agh!

Don’t forget it is about fun, guys.  Don’t forget it is about fun.